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Terror Tales series of films
Terror Tales is a series of horror anthology films released between 1992 and 2002. It was created by Lily Laney, Frank Novice and Elliot Strange. Summary The settings for each film vary, but the general premise is the same, where three different tales are told, which almost always trace back to one man, Mr. Thornton, a deranged writer who made what happened in the tales possible. Films Prequels Thorn and Scatter are often considered to be predecessors to the Terror Tales series, due to their inclusion of characters and plot elements that go with the main entries. Thorn Thorn establishes the main antagonist, Mr. Thornton. Mr. Thornton is a meek writer who is unable to draw up inspiration for good stories. It isn't until he accidentally kills one of his friends that he is able to draw ideas based on the act and events in the casualty's life that he creates successful stories. In order to keep getting inspiration while getting rid of telltale clues to his actions, he makes a deal with a demon who'd feed on the casualties. Thornton was played by Donald Pleasance. Beyond a voice cameo in the first Terror Tales, it was his only time playing the character. Scatter Scatter features references to events in Thorn and contains characters that would appear or would be mentioned in later installments, notably Stephanie who was among one of the surviving victims in the first Terror Tales. In the film, it was mentioned that the events of Scatter were written into a novel by Thornton. Terror Tales The first Terror Tales was a standard anthology, but the second segment was reworked to better fit the narrative established in Thorn, the tale was told by Stephanie who admitted to being a fan of Thorn. She barely escapes after her husband readies his children to be sacrificed to Thorn's demon. Terror Tales II Stephanie escapes from one of Thorn's contacts and takes refuge in Mr. Thornton's remote cabin, where he tells her stories that are actually based on instances in his life that molded him into what he is now. She evades him again before she could be sacrificed. Terror Tales III In an attempt to get more info on Mr. Thornton, Stephanie interviews three people who claim to have ran into Mr. Thornton and he had them commit grizzly acts to fuel his own inspiration. We also get insight into Stephanie's personal life as she's stalked by Mr. Thornton. The film ends with Stephanie evading Mr. Thornton while dealing a supposedly fatal blow to his head. Terror Tales IV Stephanie has recurring nightmares regarding her experience with Mr. Thornton. The stories told are represented through three different nightmares. It's revealed that Mr. Thornton trapped her within his demon's world and that he intends to finish her off by killing her there. Stephanie manages to escape the world and promptly kills Mr. Thornton, later finishing his story. Production Strange intended to end the series after the second installment, with Stephanie getting killed at the end. The intended ending was shot and appeared during the film's theatrical debut, but was edited out on later prints without Strange's knowledge. Both Laney and Novice wound up going to LionsGate to produce two additional installments between 1999 and 2002. Strange received a legacy credit but had no involvement in either film. Strange has been openly critical of both films, accusing them of being cash grabs. Reception